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Watch Your Kids
Linda Goin
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 Archives |
Time
to get ready for back-to-school activities. Summer's groaning
to an end, even if the heat's still going strong. It's about
time to buy new shoes, new jeans, new book covers, pencils,
notebooks, and anything else impossible to live without for
the upcoming school year. For myself, it's the time of year
to see what's new on the market. If I didn't have my daughter,
I'd never know that Britney Spears is out, the worms from Men
In Black II are way in, and that it's really ok to have braces
- in fact, in some areas, naked teeth are outside the circle
of de rigueur.
This year, my daughter wanted anything that resembled 'Asian.'
She's memorized various oriental symbols for "love",
"money", and "luck." She spends hours copying
pictures from tame anime cartoon books. She wants to own the
kimono I bought last year (and of course, she managed to snag
it for herself). I wonder if this is a new area to research
for possible investment, or if it's just a craze.
I learned my lesson about fads a few years ago. As I was meandering
around Melbourne, Australia with a friend one day, he pointed
to a fat, furry, yellow, pointy-eared stuffed animal in a store
window and said, "That's the latest rage from Japan. Crikey,
every kid's got one." I shook my head, and wondered why
anyone would want to own an overblown lemon. Two years later,
Pokemon - the name of this crazed little creature - made his
debut in America, and rocked every parent's toy equilibrium.
Pokemon is one rage that's managed to stay alive. Not many fads
make it through the initial year. Take the Pet Rock - or not.
The name lives on, but sales are shabby. Anything electronic
has managed to survive lately, especially if the product evolves.
GameBoy first arrived as a regular game machine; then, the color
version arrived. And, of course, there's a myriad of games to
keep the machine alive on the market, all aimed at different
age groups.
The ploy is the market potential for each new venture. Markets
that target children are created to push our kids into the abyss
of point-of-purchase, taking their parents with them. This is
called "POP" in the marketing world. If a movie is
designed to hit the 5-8 yr-old market, there will be appropriate
marketing and POP merchandise to accompany the film. If the
new rage is a cereal for the 8-14 yr-old market (the tweens),
then you can bet the accompanying merchandise will be appropriate
to this age group.
The chagrined marketer has discovered, however, that kids are
much smarter than they used to be. There's a lot more value
placed on peer opinion. I'm not quite sure when this all came
about myself. When I was my daughter's age, I wanted anything
that beckoned to me from the television. Today, my daughter
may want what's shoved at her on commercials during her favorite
shows, but she has to check with her peer group to see if the
concept flies before she buys.
I wonder if we're raising a bunch of future marketing managers.
This is important. What could be better than having your own
little brand hunter? Granted, the markets are still going to
push what they believe our children crave. They do this with
tests, surveys, and other marketing tools to indicate which
direction the marketers need to steer. On the other hand, markets
will also discover merchandise or services they believe will
be "hot." These are also tested before the product
hits the market. The tricky part is this market research can't
cover all the questions, and some areas aren't tested at all.
This testing is 'scientific' in some respects, but it's also
a bit spotty.
Why make risky investments based on tests created by adults?
Just watch your kid - and their friends - and take notice of
the item they've raised to "gotta have it" level.
You'll know they really want it when the garbage goes to the
dumpster without asking, their bedroom stays clean, and you
hear the sounds of little angels brushing teeth after every
meal. Then, hunt down the following information:
- Find
who makes the product, and what they plan for this product's
longevity.
- Does
the company have a Web site? Does it have a specific site
for this particular game/brand of clothing/toy? Which age
group do they cater to?
- Does
the company have a consistent history of "hot"
sellers, and are they still going strong?
- How long
has this company been in business, and are they diversified?
Do they rely on serial fads, or do they have backbone sellers
that take care of bills and possible losses?
- Are they
listed on a stock index, and what is their history there?
If you don't know how to read the numbers on a company,
go to Mom's Method of Stock Research in this year's January
archives.
- Register
at BUYandHOLD
(if you haven't already -why not? It's free, and there's
no obligation), and plug the stocks into your stock
tracker. Arrange for alerts to arrive in your e-mail
box, so you don't forget about the stock.
- Watch
the stock. If you become comfortable with the company's
performance, buy the stock. If the company keeps delivering
bestsellers, keep the stock and buy more.
Don't think I don't reward my daughter for her intuition and
hard work. She gets to share in these stocks, too. Who knows?
Maybe the company that makes those cute little pencils today
will eventually pay for my daughter's college education in
a few years.
Until Next Week,
Linda Goin
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